


Company Girls

by tessykins



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: AU, F/F, Fanmix, Femslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-20
Updated: 2009-07-20
Packaged: 2017-10-19 13:23:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/201311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tessykins/pseuds/tessykins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a Company compound, two young girls grew up together and became women. (It's a fanmix too!)</p><div class="center">
<br/><img/></div>
            </blockquote>





	Company Girls

**Memory**   
[[Two Little Girls – Ani Difranco]](http://www.box.net/shared/tkv5u6kdeh)   
_Two little girls growing out of their training bras  
This little girl breaks furniture, this little girl breaks laws  
Two girls together  
Just a little less alone _

When Claire is five, Noah Bennet dies in a car crash. Claire dies too, until she doesn't. She wakes from the dead, covered in blood in the mangled front seat of the family car beside the body of her father. It isn't a nurturing experience.

She sits in the ruin of the car, crying until her throat is sore.

Men in gray suits and black cars come and find the wreck. A balding man in thick glasses lifts her out of the car and hugs her tightly. Claire screams over his shoulder, reaching for her father, as they take her away.

The serious-faced men take her to a gray place with no windows. She cries and cries and then someone comes.

Uncle Claude, her father’s partner, slams the door open and sweeps her up into his strong arms. Claire huddles against his shoulder. “Oh, Claire-bear, I’m so sorry,” he says. Claude holds her until she can’t cry anymore.

Claire and Claude sit together, tears drying on their cheeks. Then the heavy door creeks open and a girl pops her head in. Blonde and skinny, she looks bright and cheery in the gray room.

The girl smiles. “Hi, I’m Elle.”

Claire can’t help but smile back.

  
 **Hand**   
[[So Here We Are – Bloc Party]](http://www.box.net/shared/qbpp0daqst)   
_I caught a glimpse, but its been forgotten  
So here we are again  
I made a vow, to carry you home... home _

When Claire is seven, Claude tries to take her and Elle away from the Company.

Claude slips into her gray room in the middle of the night. Claire startles awake as a hand clamps over her mouth. Claude shimmers into visibility, a darker shadow in the dark room. He puts a finger to his lips, signaling her to silence. Claire nods and looks up to see Elle loitering in the doorway, thin and gawky and nervous.

Claire cocks her head quizzically at Claude; he just shakes his head and stands. There’s no time for explanations.

Claire lifts her arms up and Claude scoops her into his own stronger arms, settling her against his hip. She’s a small child still, and both of them cherish the closeness of casual touch. Claude takes Elle’s hand and pulls her close. Claire gasps as a cool wind shimmers over them; she almost laughs to realize that Claude has made them invisible too.

Claude whispers, quiet as a breeze, “I’m going to take you far away from here, where no one can ever hurt you.”

The three of them steal out into the hall, pad of feet nearly silent on concrete. Claire doesn’t quite understand what’s going on, but she trusts Claude to take care of her.

She holds her breath as Claude pulls open the heavy door that seals the section.

It’s too late.

Thompson smiles, adjusting the bulky goggles he’s wearing. “Hello, Claude.”

Claude doesn’t flinch, with Elle’s hand in his and Claire perched on his hip. “Thompson.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do this.”

Claude closes his eyes, gently puts Claire on the ground. He kneels down and hugs her and Elle. He looks them both in the eyes, whispers, “I love you both, so much.”

He rises, faces Thompson. “I’m ready. Just—just not in front of them.”

Thompson nods and takes Claude away with him. Claire never sees Claude again.

  
 **Elusive**   
[[Sleepy Head – Eisley]](http://www.box.net/shared/sse91i114x)   
_Sinking down upon dirty ground  
My heart has stopped inside of me  
Break my legs to hold me to you;  
sulfur breathed into my head_

When Claire is nine, they start testing her.

Cool sterile rooms filled with doctors who keep their faces hidden behind masks. Tools of metal and plastic as they take her to pieces. Little cuts at first, then deeper. Cutting off parts of her to see how much she can regrow at once. Taking out her organs to see what survives outside her body. Claire remembers the day they broke every bone in her body, just to see what would happen. Endless, endless vials of her blood; trying to find that elusive spark of immortality.

And then Claire died.

That, she doesn’t remember. Just a hazy feeling of pain at the back of her head, and then nothing.

That’s the day they stopped.

There’s a boy, a young black boy. He doesn’t speak and Claire doesn’t know his name. The day after Claire dies, the boy visits her in her room. He stares at her with huge dark eyes, fingering the gold symbol around his neck.

He reaches out and very gently touches the back of her hand. Claire looks up, startled. “My name is Jacquot,” he says, soft and thick with a French accent. “They’ve sent me to make you forget, take away your memories, as I have done so many times for Elle, and for others.” He tilts his head at her, but she can’t read his expression. “But I don’t think I could take away your memories. I do not think my gift could affect you in a way that you would not heal from. Can you keep a secret, Claire?”

Claire nods, too surprised to speak.

Jacquot nods. “Then you must pretend. You must act as though you remember nothing; as though you were a normal girl. And you must forget that you ever knew my name, or ever heard me speak. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” Claire says with a waver in her voice. She’s thinking of what will happen if they’re caught.

Jacquot smiles, a sad shadow of a smile. He nods to her, silent again, and leaves her huddled in her room.

It feels like hours have passed when Elle bounds into her room, full of energy. “Hey, blondie.” She grabs Claire’s wrists and drags her out of the gray room. Claire lets Elle tug her around, knowing it’s not a fight she’ll win.

Elle grins at her. “Daddy’s decided to train you up.”

That’s the day Claire becomes a Company agent.

  
 **Hold**   
[[Lonely Moon – The Cat Empire]](http://www.box.net/shared/six9q372o0)   
_Like a bullet from a gun  
She sparks and then she runs  
The only thing she's sure of  
Is that no one really understands_

When Claire is ten, Elle kills a man.

Elle’s fifteen, and Bob has been sending her out on missions with more experienced partners. She can be useful in the field, and Bob’s determined to use her as soon as possible. That was a mistake on his part.

Claire only finds out the details later. The mark, a man with skin like iron, had ambushed the agents. He’d killed the woman with hands of flame, broken her neck before she even knew what was happening. Her human partner had pulled his gun, but bullets can’t harm impenetrable skin. Electricity can. Elle had panicked and tried to use her ability. She’d used too much. Elle sparked and lit up the man's house, wiping the mark out with a blaze of blue light. The agent had gotten caught in the crossfire and was now screaming and thrashing in the compound’s ICU.

Claire doesn’t know any of this when Elle crawls into her bed that night.

Elle’s known how to break the electronic locks on their doors for years; her nighttime visits aren’t that out of the ordinary.

But Elle’s crying, and Claire’s never seen her do that.

Elle curls around her, warm bodies huddling in the night. Claire wraps her arms around her, not sure what else to do. Elle buries her face against Claire’s neck, hot tears spilling on her skin. “I killed him,” Elle whispers.

Claire tenses up, but Elle’s too lost in her thought to notice.

“I killed a man! I had to…I did, and I don’t feel bad about it.” She raises red-rimmed eyes to Claire’s face. “I liked it,” Elle breathes, so softly Claire barely hears her. “And it’s wrong and I know I should feel awful and now I do, and I don’t know what to do…” Her voice crescendos into a piteous wail.

“Shh,” Claire murmurs, “it’ll be all right.” Elle settles against her as Claire strokes her hair soothingly.

Claire can’t help Elle, doesn’t even know how to begin; all she can do is hold her.

  
 **Helpless**   
[[As You Are – Travis]](http://www.box.net/shared/3z3gqbluu3)   
_But it's OK to lead me on  
I must admit it's not much fun  
To be led on by such a one  
As you are _

When Claire is twelve, she meets Adam Monroe. Adam’s like her, unbreakable.

Elle drags Claire down to the basement levels, promising a surprise. They slide to a halt in front of a large window.

Claire looks in on a gray room with sparse furniture. She’s struck by how much it looks like her own room, though hers is filled with pictures and books, clothes and toys.

A beautiful blond man sits at the metal desk, a book hanging from elegant fingers. He looks up and gives them a blinding smile. “Elle, you brought your friend.”

Elle grins. “Claire, this Adam Monroe. He’s been here even longer than I have.”

Adam stands and approaches the window. “Almost forty years,” he says.

“But you’re so young,” Claire blurts out.

Adam turns his smile on her. “That’s because I can heal, Claire. And I hear you can, too.”

“Claire-bear’s indestructible.” Elle grins proudly.

Claire looks up at Elle, surprised. She recognizes the look in Elle’s eyes with a sinking feeling. It’s not the first time Elle’s been in love. There was Sophie last year, but Sophie hadn’t liked Elle. There had been a fight, a horrible fight. Elle nearly killed her, and Mr. Linderman sent Sophie to Texas.

But Adam’s not an agent; he’s a prisoner, even she can see that. And his smile is wrong. He’s not safe.

Claire steps away from Elle, pulling her hand away. Elle doesn’t even notice, too busy looking at Adam.

With a flash of insight, Claire realizes that she’s going to lose Elle to this man, and there’s nothing she can do to stop it.

  
 **Passion**   
[[Melt Your Heart – Jenny Lewis]](http://www.box.net/shared/nto3ssdqxn)   
_It's bound to melt your heart  
One way or another  
It's bound to melt your heart  
For good or for bad _

When Claire is fifteen, she has her first real fight with Elle. They’ve fought before, little girl squabbles. But this is the first time they use their powers.

They fight about Adam—what else?—Claire distrusting as always. She hasn’t trusted anyone since Claude disappeared, since Jacquot trusted her with his secret. But Elle, for all her cynicism, trusts men all too easily. And Adam is just too pretty to resist.

They fight with fists and fury; resentment born of being constant companions for years. Then Claire brings up Bob, and Elle’s daddy issues.

That’s when Elle kills her.

A blast of blue-white light and then Claire is lying panting on the floor, feeling her skin heal.

Elle is staring at her in horror and wonder and a touch of smug joy.

Claire feels the rush of sick anger sweep over her. She pushes herself to her feet and charges Elle. Claire grunts as she slams the other girl against the wall, knowing she’s hurting them both and not caring.

Elle fights back in the way she knows best, blue sparks jumping off her skin and burning Claire. Claire pushes through the pain, ignores the scorching and knitting of flesh. She ignores everything but the rage that tastes like blood in the back of her throat. She lands blow after blow on Elle, marking her body in a way she’ll never know.

Elle’s lips draw back in a snarl, and Claire knows she’s not the only one with issues. Elle struggles free, knocking Claire back. She kicks Claire in the stomach, and Claire folds. Elle darts forward and presses her hands to either side of Claire’s face. She stares into her eyes a moment, matching snarl for snarl. Then volts of electricity flow through Elle’s hands into Claire’s head. Claire screams, writhing in agony. The world grays out, pain fading in oblivion.

When Claire wakes again, Elle is cradling her head in her lap. Elle’s cheekbone is beginning to swell, probably broken, and tears are gathered in the corner of her eyes.

“God,” Elle breathes out. “I thought I’d really killed you that time.”

Claire smiles grimly and sits up. “Nope; I’m pretty much indestructible.”

“I’m glad,” Elle says quietly, not looking at her.

Claire reaches out and brushes Elle’s bangs off her face. Elle’s eyes jump to Claire’s face, too blue and too intense. They give each other soft smiles and time stretches into a too-breathless moment. Eyes flick to lips and back to eyes.

Then Claire reaches forward and wraps her hand around the back of Elle’s head, pulling her closer. Elle’s lips soft and chapped against hers, faint taste of blood lingering between them. Elle reaches desperately for her, hands on her arm, thumb gently stroking skin. Claire moans and tangles her hands in Elle’s hair.

It’s awkward, and overwhelming, and perfect.

  
 **Watch**   
[[Different – Acceptance]](http://www.box.net/shared/t36rn5ho58)   
_I wanted to see something that's different,  
something you said would change in me.  
Wanted to be anything different,  
everything you would change in me._

When Claire is sixteen, she has her first solo assignment.

The woman she’s assigned to watch is nothing too spectacular, a soccer mom with a special affinity for plants. She watches the woman go through her daily routine, watches her take care of her family.

Seeing the family close and loving make something twinge in Claire’s chest. For the first time, she really begins to long for something different.

Claire has her own strange family; Bob a surrogate uncle, Jacquot her strange cousin, her many trainers distant cousins and friends. Elle is her sister, her best friend, her closest companion; they hadn't since talked about the kiss they'd shared, too afraid of what it might mean. Claire hasn’t wished for anything different, not since Claude disappeared.

But now she starts to wonder. What would her life have been like if she’d had parents, a real family, who loved her? If she’d never had an ability?

She envies this woman, who’s made herself a family despite her powers, despite everything. She wishes she could live, love, like that. But Claire can’t change.

She calls in the Company team the moment the woman manifests.

  
 **Feel**   
[[Glass Vase Cello Case – Tattle Tale]](http://www.box.net/shared/u70o6kgtxi)   
_Breathe into my hands  
Or cup them like a glass to drink from;  
Are you still,  
still breathing._

When Claire is seventeen, she has sex for the first time. There's a boy, West, another special in training with the Company. He accepts her, glories in their abilities. She's so caught up in the rush of new acceptance that she barely bothers to get to know him. After ten years of the same people day after day, she's excited just to be with someone new.

When he shyly tries to move past making out in his room, she lets him. He's gentle, butterfly kisses against her naked skin. Though he's seen what she can do, he still treats her like she might break. Claire hates it. It's not enough, never enough. He's too hot, too big, rutting over her on the small bed. His fingers flutter against her and she comes, but it feels strangely empty.

He whispers sweet nothings in her ears, declaration of love, but Claire can only think of blonde hair and electric blue eyes.

Elle is waiting for her when she wanders back to her bedroom. Her face is set in a moue of petulant anger.

Elle shoves her against the wall as soon as she walks in and a shock of surprised lust jolts in her chest. “You're supposed to be mine, Claire-bear.”

Claire takes a deep breath. This is she wants and needs, what they've been moving towards since they kissed two years ago. Like the tide coming in, inevitable and pulling.

“Oh, yeah?” she says. “Prove it.”

Elle's eyes narrow at the challenge; she sinks to her knees and proceeds to show Claire exactly who she belongs to.

Claire cries out, hands tangled in long blonde hair, overwhelmed by the feeling of rightness. She inhales Elle with every breath.

  
 **Scar**   
[[Crooked Teeth – Death Cab for Cutie]](http://www.box.net/shared/ogg7siz8v7)   
_'Cause at night the sun in retreat  
Made the skyline look  
Like crooked teeth  
In the mouth of a man  
Who was devouring, us both_

When Claire is eighteen, she kills someone.

She's working with partners, two humans. Their mark, a telekinetic with schizophrenia, rushes them. Claire doesn't think, just pulls her gun and fires. The man looks at her shocked, touches a hand to the bloody wound in his chest and drops.

Claire hates herself for it.

When had her first instinct become to kill? Was this what the Company had molded her into? She hates everything about it. She killed a man, not just a man but a special; one of her own kind. And the other agents don't understand, they clap her on the back and congratulate her on protecting her partners. But she can see the way some of the others look at her out of the corners of their eyes, can feel the betrayal in their gazes.

That's when she begins to doubt her loyalty to a Company that's made her turn against her own people.

But it's too late. Even if she managed to escape, she'll never be normal. She's damaged goods, a killer, scarred.

  
 **Sun**   
[[Burn Out Bright – Switchfoot]](http://www.box.net/shared/o9tnry8pf5)   
_If we only got one try  
If we only got one life  
If time was never on our side  
Before I die I want to burn out bright_

When Claire is nineteen, Peter Petrelli explodes in the sky over New York City.

Claire and Elle are tangled on Elle’s bed, watching the news on Elle’s laptop. The explosion rips across the sky like a shooting star and the world changes.

The talking heads are gabbling, explaining away stories of men flying through the air, of amazing powers. Claire is shocked at their denial, but knows it can't last. They're all exposed to the world now, it won't be long till everyone knows about them.

And Claire is glad, glad.

Maybe, finally, they'll let her leave the facility, live in the world. And she wants the whole world to know about her and her people.

“Fuck,” Elle snarls angrily.

Claire looks at her in surprise. “What?”

“We're exposed, idiot. What the hell are we supposed to do now?”

Claire shakes her head in confusion. “Isn't this a good thing?”

Elle laughs. “This Company is all about secrecy, Claire-bear. How long do you think that's going to last when everyone knows about specials? And how long do you think it will take before the government starts to come after people like us? I can't believe you're this naive.”

Claire looks at her fiercely. “I want the world to know us. To acknowledge us. I want us to be free.”

  
 **Countdown**   
[[All We Are – Matt Nathanson]](http://www.box.net/shared/ibj8zfu50t)   
_I wasted, wasted love for you  
Traded out for something new  
Well, it's hard to change the way you lose  
If you think you never won_

When Claire is nineteen, she starts to doubt the Company.

It's been building for a while, but it finally comes to a head. Claire can't deny it anymore, how much she hates the Company, how much she hates this gray place.

All she wants is to leave.

Elle doesn't understand.”This is my home—our home,” she says plaintively.

“Yeah,” Claire says, pacing restlessly. “We've lived here all our lives, been prisoners here all our lives. Haven't you ever wondered what it's like out there? What it's like to be normal?”

Elle's eyes narrow. “I've never been _normal_. I set my grandmother's house on fire when I was six.”

Claire glares back at her. “My dad and I died in a car accident when I was five.”

Elle rockets up off the bed, stepping into her space. “We're not normal, Claire-bear, we never have been. I've never wanted to be _normal_ ,” she practically spits the word.

“Never? You've never gone on a date, never been on a rollercoaster, never been swimming. And you've never wanted to leave this place?”

Elle looks away. “This is my home,” she whispers.

Claire grabs her arm, forcing her to look back at her. “What they've done to you is wrong, Elle. You don't even know what they've done to you. This Company is _wrong_.”

Elle jerks away. “I believe in what we do here. We're keeping people safe.”

“By kidnapping and dissecting our own people?”

“It has to be done,” Elle says firmly.

“Oh, Elle,” Claire says, reaching out to touch her face. It's horrifying what they've twisted this beautiful girl into.

Elle pulls away from her, her electric eyes going cold.

Claire steps back, knowing the line has been drawn.

It's a catch twenty-two. She loses every way.

But it’s only a matter of time now.

  
 **Promise**   
[[Droplets – Colbie Caillat]](http://www.box.net/shared/4ubckiufp6)   
_I'm leaving you  
I'm not sure if that's what I should do  
It hurts so bad  
I'm wanting you but cant go back  
Trying to find, to find  
That all elusive piece of mind  
Stuck here somehow  
Shrouded beneath my fear  
And now I don't need it_

When Claire is twenty, she leaves the Company.

She's sent out on a mission, only to discover that the target is a child. A little boy, blond and happy and smiling, with a loving happy family. When it comes down to it, Claire can't bring herself to bring the child in.

She confronts the parents in their kitchen, and despite their startled fear, she sends them away. Puts them into their beat-up minivan and watches them drive away.

Then she just doesn't go home.

This is the only way. She couldn't have left if she'd had to face Elle, see the coldness in her eyes, the judgment in the set of her lips. She couldn't have left if Elle had asked her not to. But in her heart, she promises she'll go back one day, and pull Elle out with her.

She's running now, trying to flee the only life she's ever known.

The man called the Haitian finds her. In a rundown motel in Texas, Jacquot wakes her from restless sleep with a gentle hand on her shoulder. The expression on his face is proud.

“Are you going to take me back in?” Claire asks, pulling the sheets up around her.

“Of course not,” Jacquot says, and it is the first time she'd heard his voice in years. “I am going to take you to meet your grandmother.”

When Claire is twenty, she learns she has a family.

  
 **Revolve**   
[[Battle – Colbie Caillat]](http://www.box.net/shared/mng3als1eu)   
_Cause this is a battle  
and its your final last call  
it was a trial, you made a mistake, we know  
but why aren't you sorry, why aren't you sorry, why?  
this can be better, you used to be happy, try!_

When Claire is twenty, she starts fighting alongside Peter Petrelli.

Peter is her uncle and she loves him. She believes in his purity of heart and when he speaks, she can actually believe in the perfect world he imagines. And that scrap of hope is enough for her. She's a loyal soldier to his cause.

And then Nathan, her father, turns on them.

And suddenly the war is no longer about ideologies, but desperately real and filled with bloodshed. Claire loses count of the times she gives up her life in the fight against Pinehearst. She's hit by a train protecting a valuable spy. Her head is ripped open when the monster named Sylar tries to steal her power. Claire tries to keep count, catalog scars that don't appear on her skin, but there's too many wounds long-healed.

But Claire never really feels them until she faces Elle, roles twisted and reversed, on opposite sides of the battle.

Claire fights a man with super speed, much too fast for her little gun. She doesn't know his name, only his power and his allegiance to Pinehearst.

A hand grabs her from behind and Claire collapses into an electric storm.

Claire struggles up from the ground, blistered skin already healing. Elle meets her eyes, part horror, part regret, part smug satisfaction. Claire lifts her chin and balls her fists.

She lands the first punch, knuckles splitting the skin of Elle's cheekbone even as sparks burn her hand. She bears Elle to the ground, fists finding the other blonde's vulnerable spots, ignoring the way the skin burns and peels back from her flesh. Elle is laughing wildly.

Strong hands pull her off and Claire looks furiously up at Peter, the red haze of anger falling from her vision. Peter is looking at her, something in his eyes that she can't identify. “Come on,” he says, pinched. “There's more of them coming. We have to go.”

Claire nods, turning away. Elle lurches to her feet and grabs her, presses bloodies lips to hers. The taste of sparks and copper spills between them. “See you around, Claire-bear.” Elle giggles her crazy little girl laugh.

Claire turns and runs after Peter. She can still taste Elle's blood on her lips.

  
 **Uncover**   
[[Chelsea Hotel No. 2 – Rufus Wainwright]](http://www.box.net/shared/0410mezodv)   
_Ah but you got away, didn't you babe,  
you just turned your back on the crowd,  
you got away, I never once heard you say,  
I need you, I don't need you,  
I need you, I don't need you  
and all of that jiving around._

When Claire is twenty-one, she celebrates her birthday with Elle.

It’s not much of an occasion. They’re both to caught up in the fight to spare much time for celebration. But it’s a chance to take a breath, and to mark their time together.

They meet in a dirty hotel room; Elle’s been living there for the last few days. Claire pretends that she doesn’t know that, she shouldn’t care where an enemy is sleeping.

And Elle is her enemy now. Or at least, Peter’s enemy. They’re on opposite sides of the fight, staring longingly over a wall made of their families’ rhetoric and hatred. Claire shakes her head angrily, long ponytail swishing over her shoulders. She and Elle only have this time together, and she refuses to let the war seep past the bedroom’s thin walls.

Elle grins up at her, sprawled on the unmade bed. “Hey, blondie,” she says. She looks different, older even than the last time Claire saw her. Her hair’s short again, chopped off around sharp cheekbones. Blue eyes are hardened as ever, but Claire can see the flush on Elle’s cheeks.

“Elle,” she whispers and moves forward. She cups Elle’s face in her hands, sighing at soft skin on hers.

Elle looks up questioningly, hands grasping her forearms. Elle stares at her for a long moment, then her eyes slide shut and she tilts her face up.

Claire claims Elle’s lips in a desperate kiss, hands caressing and restraining. Elle gasps against her mouth, lips parting against lips. Their tongues meet and duel, and Elle’s hands pull harshly at Claire’s hips.

Claire pushes Elle back and kneels on the edge of the bed. Elle grins coyly and scoots up the bed, her smile inviting Claire to follow. Claire crawls up the sheets after her, falling into inviting arms.

Elle grabs her hair and tugs her into a kiss. Teeth nip at lips and it’s painful and perfect.

Claire sighs and runs her hands up Elle’s vulnerable sides, pushing up her worn t shirt. Smooth skin beneath her hands and it’s intoxicating. Elle pushes her off for a moment, pulling the shirt off over her head.

Claire reaches out and pulls Elle against her, lips finding the skin of her shoulders. Laying a trail of kisses, rediscovering the contours Elle’s body. Elle moans and writhes beneath her mouth, sharp fingernails biting at her shoulders. “I’ve missed you,” Claire sighs against pale skin.

Elle pretends not to hear and pulls her into a savage kiss, lips speaking more eloquently than words.

Claire sits back and pulls her dress up over her head. She hadn’t worn anything else, knowing that they’d end up here. She tosses the dress aside and slips back into Elle’s embrace, shivering at the sensation of naked skin.

She moves down her lover’s body, lips closing on a pert nipple. She sucks hard, feels a spark of fierce joy as Elle arches beneath her.

“I need you,” Elle gasps, hands scrabbling at her body.

Claire smiles and pulls off Elle’s shorts, leaving them naked and vulnerable to each other.

The neon of the hotel sign glows through the grimy window, painting strange shadows on their bodies as they move together.

Claire doesn’t see it, doesn’t see anything but Elle’s face rimed with sweat. Elle’s mouth panting against hers, gasping pleas and obscenities. Elle’s eyes, the same as they had always been, filled with heat. Elle’s hands, moving skillfully over her skin.

Claire moans and her hands find Elle’s heat, wet and urgent. She slides down sweat-slick skin, kissing a trail down her stomach. She looks up and meets Elle’s eyes as she lowers her mouth. Elle cries out as Claire’s lips close around her clit. Claire moans in stereo, surrounded by the taste, the scent, the feeling of the woman she has loved all her life. Claire’s hands clench on Elle’s thighs as her tongue flicks out.

Elle goes abruptly silent, arching up and coming like she hasn’t felt release in years.

Claire slithers up her body and plants a sloppy kiss on slack lips; her fingers trace lazily over Elle’s breast.

Elle moans and turns her head into the kiss. She recovers quickly, her hands finding Claire and bringing her to the brink.

Claire tosses her head back and meets Elle’s eyes, blue and open and beautiful; it’s enough. She’s coming, falling into an explosion of light the same color as Elle’s lightning.

She comes back to earth slowly and lazily, limbs tangled with Elle’s. She sighs as the heavy warmth beside her and feels a measure of peace. But it’s ephemeral, and Claire can already feel the moment slipping through her fingers.

“I love you the best,” Elle murmurs against her skin.

Claire holds her, staring up at the cracked ceiling, until the darkness claims her.

She’s gone by morning.

  
 **Redemption**   
[[Hello You Know Goodbye – Keaton Simons]](http://www.box.net/shared/arqhzbeye8)   
_I want to drink your tear drops  
When streams run into mine  
When sounds that echo dear knock  
My heart will beat in time  
Hello, you know, goodbye  
Hello, you know, goodbye_

When Claire is twenty-five, she’s older and somewhat wiser.

The war’s over, for now at least. Equilibrium reached and maintained, status quo. Claire’s just beginning to get used to having her life back. She’s not a soldier anymore, she’s just a woman.

New York’s a changed city, filled with the aftermath of abilities and fighting. She knows there’s more people like her around the city now, and some streets are still gouged with scars from flame and power.

It’s still too cold.

She’s lived in the city almost five years, and she never feels warm enough in the winter. It’s January now, bleak and cold, chill that bites to the bone.

It's bitterly cold the day Elle shows up on her doorstep.

Claire's heart lurches in her chest as she answers the door. Elle grins at her. “Hey, you.”

“What are you doing here?” Claire asks, coldly. There's so much between them; what they did, to others and each other, before the war ended. They ended when the war ended.

Elle swallows. “I wanted to talk to you.”

Claire looks away, trying to ignore the way Elle makes her breath catch in her chest. “There's nothing I want to say to you.”

“I have something to say to you,” Elle says fiercely. “I love you, you know.” There are tears glistening in the corners of her eyes, and Claire finds herself wanting to kiss them away.

“I know.”

“Then can I at least talk to you?” She smiles. “I'm not going to kill you this time. I've changed.”

Claire just smiles and shakes her head disbelievingly. She looks Elle up and down. She has changed; her body leaner and lines around her eyes. Older, more worn, but still her Elle.

There’s scars on Elle’s wrist, think bands like bracelets. Elle touches them self-consciously. “Fell in with a bad crowd,” she says nervously.

“You don't need to explain.”

Elle meets her eyes. “I want to.”

Claire steps back, holding the door open. “Come in.”

Elle reaches out tentatively and brushes her fingertips along Claire's cheek. “I've missed you,” she murmurs.

Claire sighs and leans into the touch. It feels like coming home.

  
ZIP: [here](http://www.mediafire.com/?kzkj3zwxtjv).


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